Crank case for internal-combustion engines



C- E HULL.

CRANK CASE FOR INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 30, I920.

Patented Oct. 31, 1922..

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WITNESSES A TTOR/I/EIS .c. E HULL. CRANK CASE FOR INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 30, I920.

Paten'tfid Oct. SL 1922.

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INI/ENTOR WITNESSES A TTORIVEIS C. E HULL.

CRANK CASE FOR INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 30, 1920.

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CLARENCE E. HUILL, OF SANTA BARBARA, CALIFORNIA.

CRANK CASE FOR INTERNAL-COMBUSTIQN ENGINES.

(Original application filed September 18, 1919, Serial No. 3%,431. Divided and this application filed April 80, 1920. Serial No. 378,940.

To all whom it may concern.

Be it known that l, CLARENCE E. HULL, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Santa Barbara, in the county of Santa Barbara and State of California, have invented certain new and useful lmprovements in Crank Cases for Internal-Combustion Engines, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in internal combustion engines, it being more particularly an improvement in engine crank cases, and it consists in the constructions, combinations and arrangements herein described and claimed.

One of the foremost objects of the invention is to provide an improved design of internal combustion engine crank case, of such construction that its various carried parts, as for example, the cam shafts, can easily be assembled and disassembled without requiring taking apart more of the engine structure.

A further object of the invention is to provide an internal combustion engine having the cam shaft located in the crank case, such case being of a novel but simple construction and so arranged that the camshaft can easily be taken out.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved light Weight crank case having the various major parts thereof formed or joined together by any of the well-known metalworking processes, such as casting or welding, to make a unitary or substantially integral structure.

A. further object of the invention is to provide for an internal combustion engine, an improved light-weight crank shaft bearing hanger, composed of steel plates joined to bearing boxes which thus act as spacers, integrally with the rest of the crank case structure.

Other objects and advantages will appear in the following specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a perspective view of an internal combustion engine, constructed in accordance with the disclosure of my co-pendlustrating the improved light-weight crank case,

Figure 2 is a detail perspective view of mg patent application referred to below, il-- one of the improved light-weight shaft hangers,

Figure 3 is a detail perspective view showmg how one of the half shaft bearings is applied to the complementary beveled portions of the sheet metal plates before applymg the welding material,

Figure 4 is a vertical cross section of the engine, illustrating more clearly the location of the crank case in respect to the rest of the engine,

Figure 5 is a side elevation of one of the light-weight bearinghangers, showing the shaft bearings in place,

Figure 6 1s a detail perspective view of the cylinder supporting channel iron Which is welded to the various shaft hangers to make a substantially integral structure, and

Figure 7 is a detail cross section of one of the shaft bearings more fully described below.

llhe subject matter herein disclosed is divided from my co-pending application for Letters Patent for internal combustion engine, filed Sept; 18, 1919, Serial No. 324,481. In that application, the improved lightweight crank case, which is the subject matter of the-present application, is described as originally consistin of separate parts which are later all wel ed together so as to make a unitary crank case structure.

It is to be borne in mind that in actual practice, either the casting v or welding method is intended to be employed, the ultimate purpose being to make a crank case which is very light and also easy to get at, as will presently more fully appear.

Beginning at the top of the crank case, there is a channel iron 1 as long as the entire engine, provided with a plurality of round holes 2 for the reception of the lower ends of the engine cylinder 3, as clearly indicated in Figure 4:.

This cylinder-supporting channel iron 1 is I welded at the extremities at 4:, and intermediately thereof, to the shaft hangers 5, which constitute an important part of the invention, in that they are so constructed as to produce lightness of weight and great strength. All of the shaft hangers 5 are constructed alike and one is illustrated in detail in Figure 2. A. pair of plates 6, of

suitable metal, face each other as shown any in Figure 2', being spaced apart by the half eration, the

cam shaft bearings 7 and the central crank shaft bearing 8.

hese various shaft bearings 7 8 may be Welded in place, integrally with the rest of the crank case structure, so as to make a homogeneous shaft hanger structure. In preparing the plates 6 for the welding opplaces 9 and,-,-10 are beveled on the inside, as clearly shown in Figure 3. The half bearing isthen laid in place, being temporarily held by any suitable means, and the welding material is applied in the channel that results by the application of the half bearing to the side plates.

After the welding material is applied, the shaft hanger is subjected to a dressing process which removes all irregularities, and gives the shaft hanger the appearance of being cast of one solid piece. By applying the half bearings, as described, an exceedingly strong shaft hanger is provided, the chief virtue thereof being lightness with strengthof construction. The portions 9 in Figure 2 stand at an angle of approximately 45 making it possible to easily 'remove the cam shaft 11 when the bearing caps 12 are taken off for the purpose of disassembling this part of the engine.

Cut out portions 13 in the lower corners of the plates of the various shaft hangers, h

provide seatsby means of which the shaft hangers are more snugly fitted on, thelongitudinal angular corner irons 14, to which the shaft'hangers are welded, as at- 15 in Figure 1. The irons 14 are preferably T- shaped as shown, by this formation atonce providing a base by means of which the I engine 'is attached to the chassis and also means to which the semicircular cover or oil trough 16 is connected at 17. The connecting means for the oil trough 16 consists of bolts, enabling the removal of the trough when desired.

The crank shaft 18, which is of any desired construction, is journalled in the bearings provided by the shaft han ers 5, the crank shaft being held in place y bearing caps, 19, as shown in Figures 1 and 4, and is arranged'to be actuated by the various pistons 20, by means of the usual connecting rod 21. Suitable guides 22 secured by means of bolts or equivalent means 23 to the sides of the channel iron 1, guide the tappets 24, 25 of the dual intake and exhaust valves, which form no part of the present application and consequently require no further description.

The advantages of the above described crank case structure will be fully appreciated by the reader. First of all, the peculiar construction of the skeleton shaft hangers 5 makes for lightness in weight. After the shaft hangers areonce assembled by the process of welding the half bearings across the opposed plates 6, a very strong Should it be desired to remove either or essary, dismantle the engine, as is almost umversally the case, but these shafts can be gotten at by simplyi'emoving the caps 12 and picking the cam shafts out. In'present engine constructions, it frequentlyhappens that the cam shafts are disturbed out of their properly timed positions when taking the engine apart.

In this engine, this danger is entirely overcome, because the valve structure can be completely removed without disturbing the cam shafts at all. The reverse is equally true. The cam shafts can be taken out with out having to disturb the valves at all.

While the construction and arrangement of the internal combustion engine crank case as herein described and claimed, is that of a generally preferred form, obviously modifications and changes may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the claims.

Iclaimz- 1. A light-Weight crank case for internal combustion engines,

supporting channel iron combining said angers, and a plurality of corner irons for further combining said hangers and providing an engine support. 1 2. A light-weight crank case, comprising a plurality of skeleton shaft hangers, a cylinder-supporting member welded to the respective hangers, and engine-supporting means welded to the sides of said hangers, said welds making a homogeneous structure.

3. A. light-weight crank case for internal combustion engines, comprising a plurality of shaft hangers, each composed of sheet metal plates with shaft bearings welded thereto to preserve the distance and make ahomogeneous structure; a longitudinal cylinder supporting channel iron welded to the respectivehangers, and longitudinal corner irons weldedto the lateral extremities of the hangers to provide engine support.

4. In a light-weight crank case, a shaft hanger composed of a pair of plates with cam shaft bearing receiving portions beveled on the inside. and half bearingsforming spaces for said plates, channels formed between said beveled portions and the adjacent edges of said bearings. I

the inside also being provlded; and cam and comprising a plurality of skeleton-frame shaft hangers, a cylinder welded thereto in the 5. In a light-weight crank case, a shaft 7 crank shaft bearings applied to the respective portions and welded in the channels formed by said bevels, to form a homogeneous structure.

6. An internal combustion engine, comprising a cylinder supporting channel iron with tappet guides suitably applied to the sides, and a light-weight shaft hanger structure welded to the channel iron, including cam shaft bearings so disposed as to enable the removal of the cam shaft from beneath the tappet in said guides without dismantling the crank case.

7. The combination in an internal com; bustion engine, of a crank case structure with shaft hangers having cam shaft bearings with caps removably mounted on the exposed edges, and a demountable valvecontaining head, with interposed valve tappets, providing a structure enabling the removal of either the head or the cam shaft, Without disturbing the other.

8. A crank case structure for internal combustion engines including a plurality of spaced shaft hangers having at the bottom main shaft bearings and at their sides crank shaft bearings.

9. A crank case structure for internal combustion engines including a plurality of spaced shaft hangers and a top connecting member forming an engine base, said shaft hangers having main shaft bearings at the bottom and cam shaft bearings at their lateral portions.

10. A crank case structure for internal combustion engines including a plurality of spaced shaft hangers provided at the sides with removable cam shaft bearings permitting lateral removal of the cam shafts without disturbance of push rods or rod guides.

11. A crank case structure for internal combustion engines comprising, in combination with the oil pan, a plurality of spaced shaft hangers supported over the oil pan and provided with alined main shaft bearings and at the side with alined cam shaft bearings, said cam shaft bearings having detachable parts permitting of the removal of the cam shaft laterally from the crank case without removal or disturbance of the push rods or rod guides.

12. A crank case structure for internal combustion engines, including a shaft hanger unit provided at the bottom with a main shaft bearing and at the opposite exposed sides with cam shaft bearings, and a detachable bearing cap for each of said bearings.

CLARENtJE E. HULL. 

